- विज्ञापन -
Visakhapatnam: Delhi Capitals pacers Khaleel Ahmed (2-21) and Mukesh Kumar (3-21) bowled brilliant spells at the start and in the middle of the innings to restrict defending champions Chennai Super Kings to 171/6 in 20 overs despite a magical 16-ball 37 not out by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and won the match by 20 runs to register their first win of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 here on Sunday.
Khaleel, who fell out of favour of the national selectors a few years ago but did well in the domestic circuit, rattled CSK by claiming the first two wickets by sending back openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra to reduce CSK to 7/2 in Match 13 at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. Khaleel ended with 2-21, bowling in the Power-play.
Mukesh Kumar continued to add to Chennai Super Kings’ woes as he claimed two wickets off successive deliveries as he finished with 3-21 in three overs as Rishabh Pant used seven bowlers to keep Chennai Super Kings under pressure. CSK lost the match despite some late magic by former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who hammered a sensational 16-ball 37 not out for the five-time champions towards the end of the match.
After Pant had won the toss, David Warner and the skipper hammered quick-fire half-centuries and Prithvi Shaw blazed a 27-ball 43 as Delhi Capitals managed to post 191/5 in 20 overs. The bowlers led by Khaleel and Mukesh Kumar took over after that as Delhi Capitals put their campaign back on the rails after two defeats and handed CSK their first defeat after two wins at home.
Chasing a big total of 192 on a pitch that was offering a bit of bounce, Chennai Super Kings’s hopes of winning the match depended on openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra providing them a blazing start, just like they did in their last match. However, those hopes did not materialise as they faltered to lose two quick wickets with only seven runs on the board.
